Second Chances (Steel Bandits MC Book 1)

by JC Belanger

“My sister was killed last week,” he slowly spills the story from his lips. “She was killed because I did not do what I was told to do. She was snatched at school twenty-one months ago. I was told to kill Anna if I wanted to ever see my sister again. When I told them there was no way I could ever do that, I was given the choice to kill her or force her to have sex with me. I figured that was the better choice that might allow me to live.”

  “No, asshole, coming to the club and telling us what the fuck was going on and letting us help you was the better choice!” screams Voodoo as he slams his hands on the table.

  Axel opens the door and yells. “Church now!”

  Tigger and Mikey, as well as the club girls, step up to surround Anna and CeCe. Everyone is on edge when we leave Axel’s office and head to church. I have to physically sit on my hands so that I don’t go after Skid again. He’s sitting in the corner with his head hanging down so he doesn’t have to look anyone in the face.

  “Listen up,” Axel growls to the table. “This asshole needs to fill us in on what is going on. He has already told Voodoo, Taz, and I some parts; which I will tell you before he tells us the rest. No one is to lose their temper or go after the dumbass. We will deal with this as a club.”

  Axel tells the club the story Skid told us. My mind is not focused on what he is saying since I know it. Instead, I am trying to figure out what, if anything, I’m going to tell Peaches. She deserves to know, but the club will handle this. I don’t want her to be scared of anything. I bring myself back into focus when Axel tells Skid to start talking.

  Skid looks around the room full of growling men. He knows that there is still a chance one of them will reach across the table and choke him before he is done, but he begins talking. “My sister was only eighteen years old. I had to try to save her,” he takes a deep breath, like he is trying to build up the courage to say what comes next. “I could never kill anyone, especially Anna. We were drinking one night, and I saw my chance. I figured she wouldn’t remember it and it would not be a big deal for her. I sent a couple pictures back to Chicago, so they could see I had done what they asked. They sent a picture of my sisters mutilated body back. They killed her that night. I did not know that Anna had gotten pregnant, I would have done something. I just don’t know what. My mother buried her daughter and now she is going to bury me.”

  “Who is behind this?” Voodoo asks with very little patience.

  “The Marx family,” Skid replies without hesitation.

  “WHAT THE FUCK?” Voodoo screams as he throws his chair against the wall.

  “Voodoo calm down, and tell us what is going on,” Axel bellows trying to get through to Voodoo.

  “We need Anna in here,” Scott says with his face white, “she is the only one who knows the full story of what happened with that messed up family.”

  I go to get Anna from the common room. I notice she is still upset but surrounded by the club girls. I ask Scarlett, a club girl who is always playing with CeCe, if she could watch my princess for a few minutes while we go into church. By the smile on her face I assume she is happy to be the one asked.

  “What’s going on Taz,” Peaches asks me concern showing on her beautiful face

  “Voodoo told me to have you come in,” I let her know, trying not to build her anxiety. “He said that you could fill in some background.”

  We both walk in to church. Anna looks around the room to see what is going on. When she sees Voodoo, she immediately rushes to his side. I watch as she seems to have an entire conversation with him without a word being spoken. Axel tells her, that we need to get some information from her about a family she used to know. When she hears the name, tears immediately fall from her eyes.

  “I haven’t thought about the Marx family in years,” she tells us while trying to dry her eyes. “They used to live here but moved somewhere in the Midwest after the dad went to prison. I have not heard from them since.”

  “Tell them everything that you remember,” Voodoo urges her.

  “I was just a kid, so I don’t know a lot of the particulars,” she intones, “I was friends with the youngest child, Marie. If I remember correctly the oldest was James, and it was Austin who was killed. The dad, I can’t remember all the details, but he went to prison when Marie and I were around seven or eight, for murder and attempted sexual assault. Austin was killed in a hit and run by a woman who was drunk. I remember Marie and I telling the police about seeing the dad and that woman together a few months after the funeral, but I never connected that we had probably turned him in for whatever he did. The family moved away after that. I haven’t heard from them since.”

  Axel thanks her for the information and tells everyone we are taking a break. He tells Turtle to do a quick search for information. Fury takes Skid to a room in the basement we use for situations like this. The rest of us go to the common room except for Voodoo who heads to the gym to work out some aggression. Peaches and I grab CeCe and head out for a drive to try to escape the tension growing in here. I know there is another way that would be fun to release that tension, but she has a need to hold onto CeCe for a while.

  “Baby, what are you thinking about so hard?” I ask her with a small smile.

  “I really want to know why I needed to tell what I remember about the Marx’s,” she questions me. I try to think of what I can without telling club business.

  “Skid came to us with some information that I can’t share yet,” I begin. “It led back to the Marx family. We are looking into that as you heard Prez say. Other than that, I can’t tell you anything else right now. If I can get permission from Prez I will tell you everything, but my guess is that Voodoo will wanna have that talk after he calms down some.”

  We head back to the clubhouse as my phone goes off, letting me know that we were wanted. I help Peaches get CeCe out of the car once we pull into the parking lot and we head inside. Voodoo is waiting for us. He hands off CeCe to Axel and we follow him to his office.

  “Anna, I need you to sit down and let me talk,” he tells her, “you can get mad or hit me or better yet Taz, after I finish. Skid has admitted to raping you. He has a story of being forced to do it because his little sister was kidnapped. He claims it was that or kill you. It ends up his sister was killed anyway. From what he is saying, the order to come after you was given by the head of a powerful family in Chicago. That family is the Marx family.”

  Voodoo pauses for a few moments to let everything he has told her sink in. You can see every emotion as it plays across her face before horror sets in. I want to reach over and hold her in my arms, protect her from the words and anything else that she needs protection from. But, I don’t. Anna may need my strength once in a while, but she needs to learn how strong she is too.

  “Oh my God! They killed his sister?” she cries, placing her hand over her heart as shock takes over. “What kind of monster does that? You said that’s why he attacked me? What happens now? Are the Marx’s coming here? Was Marie behind this or her brother James? Why did they do this? I don’t understand.”

  “Breathe baby,” I tell her tuning her to face me, so she can mimic my breaths. “We will figure it all out. We don’t have any answers yet, but we are working on it.”

  “Ok,” she breathes out, “One more question. What is gonna happen to Skid now that you know all this? He didn’t seem to have a choice. His sister’s life is worth having sex, willing or not.”

  “No, it’s fucking not!” I shout disgustedly. “That prick had an easy choice. He chose to hurt you. Skid could have come to us and we would have helped him and his sister. He betrayed the club, you, and himself.”

  A knock on Voodoo’s door breaks into my rant. Axel walks in with a fussy CeCe in his arms. It would seem that my princess is hungry. Peaches runs to get her bag from the car while I get her set up in the highchair in the kitchen. I still laugh to see all the things Voodoo and Axel went out to buy so that CeCe and, any other kids that might come, would be comfortable here. As we are sitting
down for CeCe to eat, several other brothers join us. They all seem to be drawn to her cute little giggles. It gives us all the respite we need from the heaviness of earlier.

  Peaches takes that opportunity to throw out a request I should have seen coming but was blindsided instead. I know that her mind is going to continue to spin in circles with every new development we discover. Not once will she let it rest. Even if it means saving the one person she shouldn’t want to save at all.

  “Axel, I have a favor to ask,” she says boldly. After he lifts his eyebrow in question, she continues. “I would like to ask for mercy for Skid.”

  A pin could have dropped in the following silence. Even CeCe seemed to understand the shock we were all experiencing. Turtle walks in with a stack of papers that he hands to Axel, while giving a short laugh saying that he seems to be the only one who was expecting her to request that.

  “Anna, this is a club decision that you agreed to let us deal with,” Axel says with his president voice as he sits down to look over the stack of papers.

  “Yes, I did agree,” Anna states, “I am not asking him to be let off the hook completely. I just would like if you would take into consideration his motivation. He did what would cause the least damage at the time. I don’t know if you can make him leave here, I would like to not have to see him. Other than that, I don’t want to know anything at all about it.”

  Voodoo walks over to her and pulls her up into his hug. He tells her she is an amazing woman, which all the brothers echo. I know I am beaming with pride because she is my old lady. Even after all the trauma, hard decisions no one should face alone, and the attacks, Anna still wants Skid to have his life. She may not want to see him, and I completely understand that, but she doesn’t want to see him pay the same price his sister paid. I’m not sure that anyone else would make the same decision that she did.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Anna

  Weeks have passed since we found out about the things Skid had going on. He left to go to Chicago to help his mother. His cut was burned the same night he gave the club his information. I’m not sure if the club did anything else to him just like I wanted. I never saw him after that night and I am happy with that. Turtle showed up a few days later with paperwork that Skid had signed giving up any and all parental rights to Cecelia. Once the papers came in, I asked Taz if he would want to adopt her. I have already gotten the paperwork filed thanks to some smooth moves Turtle made. After Taz agreed to adopt her wholeheartedly, my friend got Taz to sign them without knowing he did. I can’t wait to surprise him with the final court date. I know the club will have to throw a big party, it may just be for two announcements. I am just waiting for the test to come back.

  Marie showed up in town a few days ago, so I know that some kind of showdown is coming. It seems she is spending her time with Gizmo, the treasurer. He brought her to the clubhouse one evening when I was not there. I don’t know how, or if, she was involved. There are a lot of questions that I have about the situation that may never be resolved.

  Within a matter of a few weeks, I surprised Taz with the court date. All I told him was that he needed to dress up a little bit and that we had to go to court. No matter how inventive he was in trying to find out what was going on, I wouldn’t give in. And, yes, he did try a lot of ways to get information out of me. I enjoyed each and every single one of them.

  I also got the guys to stay away from the courthouse on the day of the adoption. It will take quite a few favors until I’m square with them. Hell, you’d think they expected me to give them my first, and second, born child to ensure that I would make meals, pies that certain guys liked, and so many more things along the lines of cooking and cleaning for my family. But, it’s worth it if it means that I get to have this moment with just Taz and CeCe.

  As soon as we walked in the courtroom, I could tell that Taz was nervous. Instead of his usual jeans and tee shirt, he was wearing a button-down shirt with long sleeves, a tie, and a dark pair of jeans. His nervous energy was palpable as we sat down at the table in front of Judge Osborne. I had a huge smile on my face that wouldn’t let up no matter what I did.

  “We are here today in the matter of Mr. Charlie Blake adopting Cecelia. Do you agree to the adoption?” Judge Osborne asks, looking up from the paperwork in front of her.

  “Yes, your honor, I do,” Taz says, looking at me as a slow smile spreads across his face.

  “These are my favorite court cases to deal with,” Judge Osborne informs the courtroom. “It is my honor, and greatest pleasure, to grant this petition to make Cecelia Rae Blake your legal daughter with all the rights and privileges that come with this order.”

  Taz stands up and wraps me in a hug that almost makes breathing impossible. He then picks up CeCe and gives her a hug and kiss as tears run down his face. We stand together as a family for a few minutes before its time for us to head towards the clubhouse. This is the first time I’ve seen Taz so many emotions and let them run free. He doesn’t care that he’s crying in front of anyone. He’s letting his happiness show in a way that melts my heart even more.

  When we pull into the clubhouse, we see that the parking lot is full of bikes and cars. It would seem that they have gone all out and invited everyone we know to the celebration of CeCe becoming a Blake. While I am excited over this, there is a tiny piece of me that is sad that I am not a Blake too. I plan to tell Taz the news that he is going to have another child to share his name with in a little while. He won’t know what I’m talking about until I show him the stick. I have it in a baggie hidden at the bottom of CeCe’s diaper bag.

  When I walk inside it is not Taz who is shocked, it is me. The clubhouse is decorated with flowers and candles. There is a table full of food and a giant cake. The common room of the clubhouse looks like it’s been taken over for a wedding instead of the party that was supposed to be taking place today. I turn to Taz with a questioning look.

  “Peaches, I had no idea that you had planned such an amazing day for me, but it seems that great minds think alike,” he says to my bewildered face as he grabs my hand. “My life is nothing without you and our daughter. I want you to have the same name as our daughter and me. If you want this too, then go to our room here. You will find a dress, and the club girls waiting to help you get ready to become my wife.”

  Before he has finished his sentence, I am tearing down the hall to our room to get dressed. I find that Stephanie and Lucy are going to help me get dressed and fix my makeup while Lucy is going to do my hair. Within about twenty minutes I am ready to make Taz not only my old man, the father of my children, but also my husband.

  Scott meets me in the hall as I open the bedroom door. He looks at me with a smile that lets me know I look good. It means the world to me that he’s here to give me away when our father isn’t here to do it. I wasn’t like the other girls growing up, I didn’t fantasize about my wedding and spend countless planning the perfect day for myself. If anything, I figured I would become an old lady from being around the club so much. But, a wedding day was never in my plan. Now, I can’t imagine a more perfect day to begin the rest of my life with the man I love.

  “Anna, I am so happy for you,” Scotts says kissing my forehead, so he won’t mess with my make-up. “I have been honored to call you my sister. I don’t know of anyone who could have gone through everything you have and still be the kind, sweet, and loving person you are.”

  Together we walk to the common room where I see Taz waiting for me and Axel standing ready to oversee the ceremony. CeCe is wearing a cute little dress holding a small pillow, but I notice that there are no rings on it, either she has lost them already or Taz knew better that to give her the rings too.

  “Brothers, we are here to give Taz and Anna our blessings as they become husband and wife,” Axel reads from the note in his hand. “Anna, do you promise to love, honor, and cherish Taz? Do you promise to not park to close to his Harley? Will you comfort him when she breaks down?”

  “I
do,” I say giggling the entire time.

  “Taz do you promise to love, honor, and cherish Anna?” Axel says to him. “Do you promise to help with the dishes, draw her hot baths, and make sure she is satisfied every night?”

  “Ab-so-fuckin-lutely!” He says with a sexy smirk.

  “Then as President of Steel Bandits and by the Marry Me Now website, I pronounce you husband and wife.” Axel is quick to say, as Taz lowers his mouth to mine. “Kiss your old lady Taz!”

  While the clubhouse rings with cheers, I get the life kissed out of me. Then I whisper into Taz’s ear. “You are gonna be a daddy.”

  He looks at CeCe, then back to me and smiles. “I am?” he asks as I grin at him while gently placing his hand on my stomach. The look on his face is priceless. I wish someone had taken his picture.

  “Listen up everyone.” He yells to be heard above the cheering. “This is the best day of my life. Not only did this gorgeous creature just marry me, she is going to give me another beautiful child!”

  We wait for a few seconds as his words sink in. Then I hear Scott yell “Children? As in more than one?”

  I just stand there smiling while Taz’s chest puffs up more. I nod my head at him and he lets out the loudest whoop I have ever heard. Life has been hard for the past year or so but it would seem that it is finally looking up. I know we will have more trouble in the future, but that is a worry for another day. Today is about celebrating life, love, and happiness. It’s the day that three people became a family for all the world to see. A day that is going to be the best we can make it because it’s what we want it to be.

  Epilogue

  Gizmo

  I was sitting at the bar having a drink when this beautiful, scared little bunny walks in. She asks to speak to the person in charge, so I know she has no clue where she is. Giving her a smirk, I tell her that the Prez is out for a bit, but she is welcome to have a drink and wait for him. She asks me if she can leave a message for him and tells me her name is Marie Marx. At that, I straighten and tell her that I insist she has a drink. I pull out my phone and call Axel to let him know of his visitor. Marie tries to tell me that she cannot stay here very long, or they will catch up with her. The fear in her voice lets me know that she is not just playing some game. She is truly afraid.